Press Release

Condition Monitoring and measuring I/Os extend the Beckhoff control solution

PC Control – high performance platform for complex tasks in the construction of wind turbines

The Hannover Messe, which takes place from 4 to 8 April 2011 in Hanover, Germany, puts the subject of wind energy into the focus with the Wind trade fair. Beckhoff is therefore represented twice – in the areas “Industrial Automation” and “Wind”. Beckhoff presents itself at Booth H60 in Hall 27 as an expert partner to the wind power industry with its PC- and EtherCAT-based automation solutions. Over 6,000 wind turbines were equipped with Beckhoff control technology in 2010 alone. Apart from TwinCAT 3, the latest version of the automation software, the highlights of the trade fair presentation include Condition Monitoring and the new measuring terminals for the Beckhoff EtherCAT I/O system.

Control systems must follow the trend towards larger and more powerful wind turbines, which are correspondingly more complex and can assume additional tasks. PC-based automation engineering from Beckhoff meets these requirements without further ado: the scalable CPU solutions make almost unlimited computer capacity available. The EtherCAT Ethernet-based fieldbus system provides both the necessary speed and the granularity at field level.

A software platform is available in TwinCAT 3 that meets all the needs of future developments, such as multi-core support, Matlab®/Simulink® support or the integration of additional tasks into the software platform. Safety technology is also integrated into the overall Beckhoff system: TwinSAFE allows the integration of safety functions into the existing control application, so that a hard-wired safety chain can be dispensed with.

Further new items to be presented at Wind 2011 by Beckhoff are wind power-specific software libraries and the implementation of the IEC 61400-25 telecontrol protocol for plant communication in wind farms. In the I/O systems segment, Bus Terminals for the extended temperature range and a new power measuring terminal for advanced network analysis are presented, which further extend the range of applications of the Beckhoff technology.

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Based on robust and scalable PC and EtherCAT technology, Beckhoff supplies universal control solutions for all areas of application in wind turbines, from pitch control and the operational management of tower and nacelle through to the farm networking and the control room – both onshore and offshore as well as in extreme climatic regions.